Following Jacob Milliron

09/23/2024

Our cousin Tim Milliron wrote a little book based on the information I gathered here. He weaved a continuing story that injects personality and home life of the Jacob Milliron Family. It’s not entirely factual, but it’s a fun read. Copies are for sale on Amazon.

In 1750, Johann Jacob Muehleisen boarded a passenger ship called Patience. He traveled from Western Germany to the New World seeking opportunities for him and his family. A skilled blacksmith, Jacob embarked on a journey to fulfill his dream of freedom and land ownership. Would Jacob realize his ...

05/27/2023

Here’s a good account of family heraldic symbols (wappen) associated with “Mill Irons.” Unfortunately it’s in German, but you can get the gist. If you indicate/select text, you might get a prompt to translate. I did.

Einführung in die Heraldik: Blasonierung

07/22/2022

I've always wondered about the tract named "Heirs of Jacob Milliron." Recently I found a legal brief on a matter before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that might explain the title. I'm posting the brief here so you can read it and decide what it says, because I'm still a bit confused.

From what I gather, Jacob claimed more than the legal limit of acres, so the surveyor was unable to file results of most of the "Heirs" tract. Jacob was supposed to amend his claim, but it seems he didn't do it properly. However, he did file some legal document that placed the land in trust for his heirs, but that was not sufficient. Some crafty person noticed the discrepancy after Jacob died and made claim to the tract. The heirs fought it all the way up to the PA Supreme Court, where the judges ruled in their favor because Jacob's intent was clear. If you Google "Merchant vs. Milliron," you will find that the case was used as precedent in a number of similar land disputes.

07/20/2022

Followers of Jacob Milliron know that there used to be a log structure alongside the house, which is situated near Rt. 66 at Racetrack Road. The owner, Mr. Miller, took it down about a dozen years ago, citing a safety hazard. People have often described it as Jacob's blacksmith shop, and legend has it that a hole near the door that you can see in the photos was for shooting at Indian attackers. I think it's just a hole. Also, it was much too small to accomodate smithing activities. What is certain is that it served as a spring house for fresh water and storing food. The remains of the spring can still be seen in the foundation below the overhang. It was described in a sale notice around 1808 as a "never-ending spring." Another possible use was what settlers called a "summer kitchen,” to which they would retreat in the hot summer months because the main house was unventilated, and most often there was a fire going for cooking.

Thanks to Cousin Nancy Andjelich Margraff for these photos, which are the best I have seen of the old building.

07/18/2022

David Levi Milliron was the last Milliron to live in the old estate. He was the second-youngest son of John Henry Milliron, who passed away just after David was born. His younger brother, John, lived nearby, just a little northeast of David on the maps. The oldest Son, Daniel, moved to Mercer County. You can see David in the brown 1867 map here just above NEW STANTON. The blue map is 1876, which is a couple years after he died. It shows an R. Miller living there. I haven't been able to find an "R" Miller, but people of that family still live in the old house. The man in the blue shirt is a Miller that lived there when I first visited. He passed away several years ago, but not before showing me around the property and inside the house. He told me that some of the interior walls behind the plaster were log walls. There are Millers in the Milliron Cemetery, but I'm not sure if they are the same branch. There are just too many Millers in the vicinity to sort out. Later censuses indicate a David Miller living near the "Delmont-Greensburg Road," which of course is the current Route 66 that runs right beside the house. The final photo here is the grave of David Levi.